I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely and with heart-held emotion to thank all those who supported me in my campaign for the District 18 supervisor position and for their encouragement over the past two county board terms that I have been permitted to serve for them. We commonly share the belief that Lincoln County can become a better place to live if we set aside personal agendas, disregard the self-serving special interest groups, and speak out against those who would dismantle our very government, in the name of the “people,” and then reassemble it to suit their own nefarious interests and goals. We must continue to believe that hope springs eternal and our very lives are built around hope and not despair.

I would be remiss if I failed to thank all of those hard working county employees who serve us day to day in order to provide the services which we all demand, but some unwilling to pay for. Please take time today to thank a county employee. They deserve it!The next County Board takes their oaths of office on April 15. We are fortunate that the majority of that board has the best interests of all of Lincoln County foremost on their agenda. We are unfortunate that there are also those, currently and newly elected, who do not share that belief but, I believe, embrace those negative aspects I mentioned previously. How sad for the people they purport to represent.

As some of you know, I am known for using axioms in illustrating my points. As we look to the future of the County Board and Lincoln County, we need to remember “if we do not speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, who will?”

With the construction of the new county buildings after 20 years of delay and costs, we have much to be proud of. It further illustrates that “Dans la defaite nous trouvons la victoire” (In defeat we find victory).